If you're decorating a home, you've probably wondered whether to buy an art print or save for an original painting. Both have their place, but they're very different things. Here's an honest look at the differences to help you decide.
What's the difference?
A print is a reproduction of an artwork, made by photographing or scanning the original and printing it onto paper or canvas. Even high-quality giclée prints are made in editions, so many people may own the same image.
An original painting is the artwork itself: the actual canvas or board the artist painted, by hand, with real paint. There is only one.
Texture and presence
This is the difference you notice first. Oil paint has physical depth: raised brushstrokes, layers of glaze, subtle shifts in sheen as you move around the room. A print is flat. In person, an original painting has a presence that reproductions simply can't match, which is why seeing a famous painting in a gallery feels so different from seeing it in a book.
Uniqueness
When you buy an original, no one else in the world has the same piece. For many collectors, that's the whole point. Your wall becomes a reflection of your own taste rather than something you've seen in countless other homes.
Longevity
Well-cared-for oil paintings can last for generations. Many are passed down through families and become heirlooms, carrying memories along with them. Prints can fade over time, especially in bright light.
Value
Prints are designed to be affordable and generally don't hold resale value. Originals are a different kind of purchase: you're buying a unique object and supporting an artist directly. That said, we'd always suggest buying art because you love it, rather than purely as an investment.
Cost
Originals do cost more than prints. But smaller original paintings are often more accessible than people expect, and a single original can bring more character to a room than several prints combined. Many collectors start with one small piece and build from there.
So which should you choose?
Choose a print if you want a specific famous image, need something temporary, or are decorating on a very tight budget.
Choose an original if you want something that's truly yours, has texture and depth, and will stay with you for years to come.
Start with one
Every painting at Gilt Atelier is a one-of-a-kind original oil by a British artist, with many presented in vintage frames ready to hang. New to buying original art? Read our collector's guide to buying oil paintings online.